Kooka Cafe

Kooka Cafe

18 Purvis Street

Tel: 64670288

Tues-Thurs: 1030 - 1900

Fri - Sat: 1030 - 2200

Sun: 1030 - 1800

Kooka cafe sits Purvis Street, along the same side as Savour (a French dining place which I promise I'll try and write about!). The interior of the cafe is perfect for a chill with a pot of tea or coffee, especially on a lazy afternoon. 

They serve specialty menus everyday, so you would have to drop by to see what they are serving for the day! The last time I visited, they had omelettes on their menu and I went for the goat's cheese and mushrooms one. The omelette was perfectly cooked, with a little juiciness left on the inside, together with fresh mushrooms, tomato, parmesan and goat's cheese. It was supposed to include bacon but I'm not a fan so I asked for a vegetarian version of it! I can't exactly remember how much this cost but it should be approximately $7. 

So I visited the place at lunchtime yesterday. It was slightly crowded because of the lunchtime crowd around town. For a cafe as such, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they were serving set lunch meals for an affordable $9.90++.

The set includes:
A drink (tea/coffee/coke/sprite/iced lemone tea),
Soup of the day (which was carrot & onion broth for yesterday),

A Main (pasta/ sandwich)

My friend and I decided to jump at it! And we ordered: 

Focaccia with Vegetables and Goat's Cheese. The Foccacia was nicely toasted to be a little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, thought it was a tad too sweet for my liking. There was grilled zuccini, eggplants, pepper within with melted goat's cheese, making it a light and flavourful sandwich at the same time. I loved it! If you're not a fan of the strong, milky taste carried with goat's cheese, perhaps you could request for an omission of the cheese/ask for an alternative. 

My friend went for the ham and cheese sandwich.  The sandwiches came with salad tossed in balsamic vinegar and fries, both of which were made to an excellent taste and texture. The iced lemon tea served was also homemade, which rich black tea and leaned towards the  sour side. 

After lunch we decided on a pot of tea: Pearl of the orient. It was jasmine tea with rose oil. If you're a fan of floral tea, this would be perfect for you. I loved the fragrant brew! And the cookie: don't look down on it. We were served with something like orange-peel cookies and it was crispy, light and fragrant. They do sell their cookies in jars at the cafe itself, making perfect gifts for others and they are home-made by the owners of the cafe!

My verdict: I'm definitely going back to check out what they have for the day, and for a chill with a pot of fragrantly brewed tea!